Episode 608 | Bootstrapping (and Exiting) a 7-Figure Info Product

In episode 608, Rob Walling chats with Adrian Rosebrock, who bootstrapped and successfully exited his seven-figure info product company, PyImageSearch, in 2021. PyImageSearch provided digital courses around visual image detection and image classification in Python. Adrian wasn’t always an entrepreneur. He graduated with a PhD in computer science, got a day job, realized early on that he hated it, and just stair-stepped his way up to running a successful business. In this episode, we cover a lot including Adrian’s decision to start blogging and launch a Kickstarter campaign in the early days to learning how to hire employees and making the decision to sell the business in 2021. Episode Sponsor: Microsoft for Startups Founder Hub  Microsoft for Startups is on a mission to help all founders innovate and grow no matter their background, location, or progress. Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub is a platform that provides founders with free resources to help solve startup challenges, including access to Azure credits, development tools like Github, mentorship resources, Microsoft collaboration and productivity software like Teams and Outlook and more. The program is open to all and takes 5 minutes to sign up, with no funding required. Learn more aka.ms/startupsfortherestofus Topics we cover:  [2:41] The story of how Adrian first discovered MicroConf  [6:29] Why Adrian didn’t want to go down the traditional path after getting his PhD in computer science  [10:01] When he knew having a traditional day job as an employee wasn’t for him  [11:24] How he used the stair-step approach to launch PyImageSearch  [13:54] What Adrian did when he started to see early traction [16:45] Did having a PhD in computer science have a big impact in the early days of launching his business?   [18:05] Adrian’s approach to learning how to market [20:31] How he balanced working a day job and his side business in the early days  [23:39] Adrian’s launch plan for selling his first ebook in 2014 [28:48] The epiphanies that Adrian had in the early days to keep plugging away  [33:33] How he went from making $38,000 in 2014 to $600,000 in 2016 as a company of one   [36:28] The mindset shifts he had to make when he started hiring employees [39:10] Adrian’s decision to sell the business  [45:03] His reflections after selling the business in 2021 Links from the Show: Adrian Rosebrock @InfoProdMastery I Twitter PyImageSearch Info Product Mastery The Stair Step Approach to Bootstrapping Ryan Delk: Lifting The Veil: The Data Behind Successful Product Launches I Youtube Quiet Light If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that...